"Married to Medicine Houston" Asks The Question: Can Women Have It All?

1 / 9

Back to Gallery

With so much discussion about the glass ceiling and Hillary Clinton’s candidacy for the presidency of the United States, you might not think of comparing it to the latest Bravo reality show. But this isn’t just another reality show. It’s “Married to Medicine Houston.”

With the world’s largest medical center located in Houston, it was a natural extension of the Married to Medicine franchise to focus its next edition in the Bayou City. While these women are absolutely professionals, there are still plenty of cringe-worthy moments of conflict in the first episode of the show, which will premiere with back-to-back episodes on Friday, November 11 at 8 p.m. CT only on Bravo (as their tagline goes).

I am in a somewhat unique situation in that I was present at several events and gatherings when the cast was shooting the show, so I can tell you first hand that there will be drama–depending on what ultimately makes the edits as the season progresses.

As the quote about Ginger Rogers goes, she did everything Fred Astaire did…but backwards and in heels. So it is with these women who are still making their way in largely male-dominated professions. The series shows them in professional settings, interacting with patients and medical students, but it also shows their home lives and how they interact with each other. They have the same relationship struggles and family issues that anyone else has.

The first episode, which was screened at a private event on Thursday night, focuses on Dr. Batiste and her husband, Ricky Cumby, who she said on a recent talk show already thinks he is a star (and he is destined to be one after this show). Matt and I both commented that we love them as a couple, and they are people we would just want to hang out with. They make you smile when they are on the screen.

Another big focus is a conflict between Rachel and Cindi. Rachel describes Cindi as the queen bee of Houston society, but things don’t go as planned when they first work together on a charity event to benefit Cindi’s Holly Rose Ribbon Foundation. Our friend Erica Rose also makes an appearance in a couple of scenes and does not disappoint those who are familiar with her reality TV show quips and sound bites.

Dr. Sato deals with the demands of being a new plastic surgeon but also being married to a younger man who thinks the time is right to start a family. Trying to time when to have children is something we have discussed and written about in our blog as well. Granted, Matt is the younger man in our marriage, which thrills him to no end.

Dr. Patel comes across as very self-assured in her profession (as you’d want someone to be when they are dealing with your heart) and when she’s teaching medical residents. Let’s hope she is as confident when she is dealing with affairs of the heart in relationships. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out on the show.

In upcoming episodes, you will see that Dr. Pourasef and Dr. Patel also “don’t really click” as Rachel put it. The crux of the conflict seems to be that Dr. Pourasef earned a Doctor of Audiology (AuD) degree instead of a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS–or DMD–Doctor of Dental Medicine). Theresa Roemer is also expected to be featured in some future episodes as she brings her own bigger-than-life personality to the doctors.

The question that remains for the success of the show is one that Matt posed to me: Would we be as interested in watching the show each week if we didn’t know the cast and it wasn’t set in Houston (since most viewers won’t be from here)? I responded without missing a beat, “Yes! Absolutely.”

One thing that we love seeing on the show is the diversity of the cast, which represents Houston’s ethnic diversity well. You have an African-American, Asian, Persians, Indian, Spanish, and even someone who claims to be part Asian and part African-American to the surprise of some. It’s never dull!

Since we are friends with many of the women on the show, we already know how many of the storylines will progress, but you will just have to tune in to watch. As we mentioned, you can watch it all on Bravo on Friday, November 11 at 8 p.m. CT to catch all the excitement of the first two episodes of “Married to Medicine Houston.”

So to answer the question if women can have it all, Dr. Batiste confidently responds with a smile, “Have you met me?”